Jigsaws

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Now that the evenings are drawing in I enjoy doing a few jigsaws. I don’t have much spare time so I don’t do large puzz;es, 750 is my favourite size. I prefer the ones where the pieces are all different shapes and often work using the shapes instead of the colours. I have tried them face downward but this is slightly too difficult.

As I work on them I think of the different members of my church. We come in all shapes and sizes and not just physically. We have the clever members, the doctors, nurses, special medical workers and hospital auxiliary staff. There are also the homeless, those with dementia or limited intelligence and those out of work. We are blessed to have many children and young people , others of us are older, active and not active. Finlly we are equally spllit between men and women. Our differences are our strength.

‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace in various forms.’ 1 Peter 4:10. God doesn’t only want clever people or homeless and poor in His church. Absolutely everyone is welcome and I thank God for the different kinds of people in my own church.

Elizabeth

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Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favoured that the mother of my Lord should come to me.’

Luke 1:42-43

Much of our church history is centred round Mary, the mother of Jesus but not so much about Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. It was not even Elizabeth who had the vision from the angel but her husband, Zechariah. The first she knew that anything miraculous was happening was when her husband returned from the temple, mute., and she wonderfully became pregnant.

She had the joy of a visit from Mary and together they praised God, two miraculuously expectant mothers. After the birth of her son, she had the wisdom and strength to declare ‘No, he is to be called John.’ As a mother she watched and waited while her son turned to a nomadic life, preached about the coming of the Messiah and baptised many, including Jesus.

Then there was that fateful day when the news reached her of the brutal murder of her son. Her heart was broken again when she heard the news of the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Bible it seems nothing more is heard of her. What a life of highest honour and deepest sorrow she had to suffer!

Why Pray?

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Janey was about six years old. She was growing up used to long prayer meetings which her parents regularly held in their own home with their Christian friends. On this particular evening she obviously found the prayers particularly long and tedious. Although well trained to behave she couldn’t help blurting out, ‘Why can’t we just say, God bless the whole world and then we can go to bed!’

I love the way children get to the heart of the matter. Maybe Janey had a point. We know that God knows everything and knows all about the things we pray for. When our hearts break because of the state of the world, His heart breaks even more. But I believe He wants our companionship, He wants us to spend time with Him and converse with Him. We love to talk with our beloved one here on earth, how much more should be want to be with our Heavenly ‘Beloved.!’ ‘Come to Me,’ He says. He will give us rest and eternal companionship.

‘He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.’

C. Austin Miles

Learn War No More

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Our hearts break at the various wars and atrocities round the world but it seems so often mankind is programmed to fight. So often we lack the fruits of the Spirit. – love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But where does it all begin,? Look at any playground, fighting is inevitable and it’s not just the boys. ‘You stole my best conker,’ ‘Come and join my gang,’ ‘I want my own way.’ Children play with pretend guns, until they become real ones.

Although it says in the Bible that there will always be war and rumour of wars, (God certainly understands our hearts), we have our fare share of wars round the world at the moment ,.

We want our own way, we think we are always right. Nation fights against nation as they want more land, more resources and more wealth. Where do they think this tit-for-tat situation is going to end? Every country involved in war ends up poorer with a weakened economy. Lives and families will be torn apart.

We need to cry to God for mercy, and pray for peace in our own homes and cities and cry out for warring families. We need tolerance with our neighbours and beg for mercy for our nation. It starts with us. but we cannot bring about peace on our own. We need the help of a weeping and heart-broken God.

Hunger

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In my country we don’t suffer from swarms of locusts. We don’t experience every growing thing being stripped away. Ours is not the starvation and famine that must follow. But many places in the world do. Thinking back and reading the story of the Egyptians in the time of Moses after the plague of locusts and the other plagues, devastation would have happened.

Today many countries are suffering famine not through locusts but war. There are wars that are stripping the land of vegetation because of bombing. I think of the fields that are no longer being planted because of fear of overhead attacks, places where buildings and homes are bombed into rubble.

I remember at the age of about six asking my mother to send my brussel sprouts to the hungry children of Africa. In my young mind I didn’t realise there were other countries round where there was hunger. Nor did I realise what war was. I still dislike watching food programmes on the television, where much food must be wasted. Famine is very real today.

There are countries involved in tit-for-tat wars with devastating results. These countries will probably never regain prosperity in our life-times. What a wicked waste is war! We can only pray as Pharoah did ‘We have sinned against the Lord our God. Now therefore, forgive our sin.’ Exodus 10:16

Trees

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I’m so pleased God created trees, they are a source of great pleasure. Genesis 1:11 says ‘Then God said, ‘Let the land produce..,,,,,,,,,. trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’

Trees are mentioned so much in the Bible though it was through abuse of a tree that the downfall of mankind came to pass. The trees in the Garden of Eden, the upright Lebanon trees the tree on which our Saviour was crucified through to the Tree of Life mentioned in Revelation, all have their place in God’s plans.

Trees produce all kinds of benefits. I read that in my own country since the Second World War billions of trees have been lost. They bind soil, and prevent erosion, the leaf fall fertilizes the ground and trees provide habitat for the wildlife, shade in the blazing heat and protection from the rain.

Recently one of our iconic sycamore trees has been illegally felled in my own area. This has led to worldwide condemnation. I’m amazed at the depth of feeling towards trees. As I say, I thank God for trees.

Help in Prayer

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The disciples asked Jesus, ‘Lord, teach us how to pray.’ Matthew 6:1 and today we are in need of the same help. Learning how to pray should not be a cause to worry. It is a chance to have a conversation with our best Friend. It is a time for a blessed communion, not a duty but a pleasure. I used to worry that if I forgot to pray for something or someone or if I didn’t pray enough that thing would not happen. But prayer is not a guilt trip.

It’s not difficult; the Holy Spirit is there to help us. We need to remember as it tells us in Romans 8: 26 ‘The Spirit helps us with groanings that cannot be uttered.’ The Holy Spirit will remember the words and matters that we forget, He will ‘fill in the gaps.’ The results of our prayers for others is not our responsibility; our task is to pray.

Prayer is such a wonderful conversation with God that Its no surprise that we can’t do it without help. When I was young I don’t remember the Holy Spirit being taught or spoken about much. Maybe it was felt my young mind couldn’t cope with the conception of it. This Holy Spirit seems like God in action as He invigorates, guides, prompts and ‘sorts us out.’ And this same Spirit does so much more.

In Step

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We are told life is a journey. It may be short, it may be long. It may be hard, it may not. Some parts will seem to gallop by, especially the good bits. While other parts will drag. Whatever our circumstances we need to walk it with God and walk it at His speed.

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus, met and walked with the undisclosed Jesus, They needed to walk at the same speed. I can imagine them slowing down at a particularly interesting point in the conversation, then speeding up as the cool night air came upon them. Whatever their pace, they walked together at the same speed. Otherwise they would not have been together when they reached Emmaus.

We, too, value our time with Jesus, but it needs to be at His pace. We know that when we race ahead, we will take the wrong paths, stumble and fall. To lag behind means we will miss out on His many blessings. Tarrying along the way will open us up to temptation, leading us where we should not be. To lag behind means the way will become unclear. I’m sure we’ve been guilty of both faults at some time.

It is again the case of ‘God knows best.’

Bold in Prayer

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When you visit a friend how do you knock on the door? Is it a gentle tap or so soft a ring of the bell that it might not even work? No, this is your friend you are visiting, you know you will have a welcome. You boldly knock or firmly ring the bell. They will be pleased to see you; they will welcome you in. It is the same with our Best Friend, He is our friend, He will welcome us. He loves us more than any other friend. We can approach God boldly in prayer.

In Luke 11 we read of the man waking his neighbour during the night, asking for provisions for a visitor, He asks with audicity because of his friendship. Because of his persistance the man will answer and give him what he asks. We read in Luke 11:9, ‘Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.’

God is pleased when we ask Him for help, happy to communicate with us. We are in a relationship, a friendship. May we approach the throne with boldness. We know He always answers pray, this has been proved to us in the past. We know His answer will be what is best for us.

Power and Love

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There seem to be two great themes in this world, power and love. The desire for power without the love of God is dangerous; the desire for love through the power of God is life changing. When we look at the world’s dictators both past and present we see carnage and destruction, nation wars against nation causing death, destruction and danger with the final result being world-wide instability. The cost to human lives and prosperity is shattering.

Those who do not know God wonder which nation will bring about the end of the world as we know it. Fear is catching and we can spiral down into the abyss. If we forget who ultimately has the finger on the nuclear button, our fear and worry will submerge us. There is an alternative, the desire for love through the power of God. We think of those who in the past have improved the world through their love of God, numerous saints in our past church history, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, and many missionaries speaking love in the Name of God.

I will never be a Mother Theresa or anyone of note. When I’m gone few will even remember my name, but I can make a difference now; a conversation with a stranger on the bus who wanted to tell me his life history lasting through a seven minute journey, a card sent to a sick friend or even a smile when someone holds the door open for me. The desire for the love of God is the desire to make a small difference.